When the Nov 1 deadline passed for ministers and members of parliament to declare their assets, many had only declared their income. Mind you, this is despite the deadline having being pushed from Oct 1 to Oct 16 and finally Nov 1.

But even that extension was apparently not enough for 10 ministers and 34 MPs who have yet to declare their assets and income. Interestingly, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which published the income of several ministers and MPs on its website, was criticised for doing it in a “haphazard manner”.

MACC chief commissioner Shukri Abdull was quoted as saying it was waiting for the final say from the cabinet to publish the assets of the ministers. It will also put up the information as decided by the government.

But why should the cabinet have a say in something that involves its members? Isn’t it a conflict of interest? The commission is supposed to be independent and should do what is right. Its actions should not be dictated by the government or anyone else.

The question also arises as to why the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government is not keeping to its election manifesto? The coalition for Governance, Integrity, Accountability and Transparency (Giat) reminded PH of item 14 in its manifesto which states that all MPs and government officials with Jusa C ranking and above will be obliged to make a declaration of assets and income.